This lesson plan teaches 2nd grade students to distinguish between the two sounds of the "ow" vowel team: the /o/ sound and the /ou/ sound. Students will use manipulatives like Cheerios and band-aids to physically label words containing the "ow" vowel team according to the correct sound. They will then create a bar graph to tally the number of words with each sound. The lesson incorporates skills in phonics, group work, labeling, and basic data representation through a bar graph.

1. Autumn Paige Booton
CI 343LessonPlan
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Topic: The “OW” Vowel Team
Pillar: Phonics
Grade/Age Level: 2nd Grade
Rationale:
The vowel team “ow” has two sounds: an /o/ sound like in the word snow and an /ou/
sound like in the word cow. It is necessary for students to distinguish the sound to use in
words containing “ow,” so they can read those words and comprehend their meanings.
I chose this method because it combines the tactile-kinesthetic modality with the visual
learning modality. Students will be able to physically label the “ow” vowel team with
objects that correspond to the sound they make in the word they are in. Additionally, I
chose to deliver my lesson this way because I personally understand something better
when I relate it to something that is common or relevant in my life. I think using Cheerios
to represent the /o/ sound and a band-aid to represent the /ou/ sound of the “ow” vowel
team work well because they are two common objects in my students life, and it will help
them remember which sounds “ow” makes so they can read more “ow” words.
Standards:
WV Next Generation Common Core
ELA.2.R.C7.1—Students know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skill in
decoding words.
 Know spelling sound correspondencefor additional common vowel teams.
21st Century Skills (Information and Communication Skills; Personal and Workplace)
21C.O.PK-2.3.LS.1-- 21C.O.PK-2.3.LS.1-- Student manages negative emotions, aligns his/her
goals to the goals of others, and works cooperatively and productively with others in small
groups.
ACEI Standards
Standard 2.1 Reading, Writing, and Oral Language
 Candidates demonstrate a high level of competence in use of English language
arts and they know, understand, and use concepts from reading, language and
child development, to teach reading, writing, speaking, viewing, listening, and
thinking skills and to help students successfully apply their developing skills to
many different situations, materials, and ideas.
Discussion Questions
What is the first sound in this word (snow)? How would this word (snow) sound if the last,
underlined sound said /ou/? How would this word (snow) sound if the last, underlined sound
said /o/? Which way sounds like a real word? Repeat for each vowel team word in lesson

2. 2 Autumn Paige Booton
Does that label make the word sound (anytime a student chooses the incorrect label) sound like a
real word or a nonsense word? How would that word sound if you used the other object to label
the “ow” vowel team (anytime a student chooses the incorrect label)?
What does it mean if you label an “ow” vowel team with Cheerios? What does it mean if you
label an “ow” vowel team with a band-aid? How could these labels help you when you come to
a word you do not know that contains the “ow” vowel team?
Activating Strategy:
Students will begin this lesson seated on the carpet. I will be at my keyboard with
Microsoft Word pulled up on my screen and on the SmartBoard. I will ask a student to
point out what we should click to choose a font, and then let that student choose the font. I
will continue this as we choose the color and size of and to underline the font. I will then
type “ow” and explain to students that when these two letters are together, they make an
/o/ or an /ou/ sound. Then I will begin typing words that contain this letter. I will type the
initial sound first and students will read it back to me. Then, I will add “ow” to the initial
sound I just typed. Students will read it back to me first by saying the /o/ sound, and then
by saying the /ow/ sound. Students will decide which way sounds like a real word. I will
explain to students the /ow/ sound reminds me of what I say when something hurts and I
need a band aid, so I like to draw a band aid under the “ow” in those words and the /o/
sound reminds me of my favorite cereal, Cheerios, so I can draw Cheerios under the “ow” in
those words. Finally, I will use my SmartBoard pens to draw both of these under the “ow”
in the words listed on the SmartBoard.
Lesson Development:
Exploration Lesson- Students will use manipulatives (band aids and Cheerios) to label the
vowel sounds in words containing “ow.” A band aid will represent when “ow” makes the
/ow/ sound and Cheerios will represent when “ow” makes the /o/ sound. Students will
return to their tables. Table managers will retrieve cardstock mini-posters that have
multiple “ow” words printed on them (some that were used on the SmartBoard and some
ones that are new to them), plastic baggies that I have already filled with Cheerios and
band-aids in them, and glue. Students will be instructed to work collaboratively in order to
read the initial sound, and then determine which sound the “ow” makes by reading it first
with the /o/ sound, and then with the /ow/ sound. Students will stick a band-aid under the
“ow” when the /ow/ sound completes the word, and glue a line of Cheerios when the /o/
sound completes the word.
Lesson Summary:
Students will return to the carpet, but this time, they will stay in their groups. I will display
the students’ mini-posters(which I will check before they can hang up, so students can
correct their mistakes). Then, since each list is different, we will count how many words
have a band-aid, /ou/ “ow” vowel team and how many words have a Cheerios, /o/ “ow”

3. Autumn Paige Booton
CI 343LessonPlan
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vowel team. We will take those totals and create a bar graph to display with our new “ow”
vowel team mini-posters.
From this lesson on, we will label words with the “ow” vowel team by drawing band-aids or
cheerios to help determine how to read them.
Lesson Contingency
If the lesson finishes early, we will return to the carpet and keyboard. I will let students
use the SmartBoard pens to draw either Cheerios or band-aids under the “ow” in words.
If the SmartBoard were to malfunction, I could easily move the keyboarding part of the
activity to being written on the white board, although it would remove the lesson’s element
of technology.
Formative Assessment:
To assess if my students are understanding how to determine the sound the “ow” vowel
team makes, I will first by calling on them individually while we are meeting on the carpet
before we break into our groups. As students answer, I will pay attention to who is able to
correctly determine which label to use. I will make a point to call on students who are
incorrect again before we break into groups.
After students break into groups, I will instruct them not to glue their Cheerios or stick
their band-aids, just to lay them under the correct “ow” vowel teams on their mini-posters.
When they have each “ow” vowel team labeled, I will check their work. If all labels are
correct, I will put a sticker on their poster, and then students will glue their Cheerios and
stick their band-aids onto their mini-poster. If any labels are incorrect I will have that
group read their words aloud to me, according to how they have them labeled. That way
they will be able to hear and correct their mistake.
Lesson Integration
I will be incorporating math during the conclusion of our lesson as we create bar graphs
and compare whether the /o/ sound or the /ou/ sound is more common among “ow” vowel
teams.
Later in the day, I will type “The Leaning Tower of Pisa” in a blank word document that I
have pulled up on the SmartBoard to begin our social studies lesson in which we will be
continuing our study of Italy. I will ask my students to write that phrase in the top of the
next page of their Passport Journals (where we keep all of our artifacts from the countries
we are studying). Then, I will ask them to decode what the underlined word by labeling the
“ow” vowel team by either drawing some tiny Cheerios or a tiny band-aid underneath it. I
will then integrate art into our lesson by searching images of the Leaning Tower of Pisa on
the internet to copy and paste onto the word document. Students will recreate the image in
their Passport Journals by drawing in pencil and then coloring with markers.

4. 4 Autumn Paige Booton
Some Sample “OW” /ou/ Sound Vowel Team Words
bow, brow, bounce, brown, browse, clown, cow, crowd, crown, down, crouch,
drown, fowl, frown, gown, growl, how, ground, now, plow, prowl, scowl, sow,
town, towl, vow, chow, wow
Some Sample “OW” /o/ Sound Vowel Team Words
blow, bow, bowl, crow, flow, flown, glow, grow, growth, know, low, mow, own,
row, show, slow, snow, sow, throw, tow
Source: http://www.ontrackreading.com/assets/pdf/OneSyllable-oe.pdf